I interviewed Becky Rhone-Nowlan in Second Life about Customer Service dynamics.

The following is Part 2 of the interview:

MagicBecky Messmer: May I take it from an on-line perspective?

Mooie Infinity: Yes indeed.

MagicBecky Messmer: I talk about this in my book, "Secrets of the Second Fortune." When you begin the process of creating your on-line business you look for a problem to solve right?

Mooie Infinity: Right.

MagicBecky Messmer: So you start researching and getting into your prospects head, thinking how they think, figuring out how they feel. Your next step is to create your product and start communicating with them.

So you expend all this energy and time making a connection with them. Are you not at this point working on *serving* your customers needs?

Mooie Infinity: Yes.

MagicBecky Messmer: At this point you are doing customer service. That's the very interesting distinction that people don't seem to get.

Mooie Infinity: Customer Service is a genuine attention to the needs of the customer.

Mooie Infinity: Customer Service is a genuine attention to the needs of the customer.

MagicBecky Messmer: Problem resolution on the other hand- is solving (or resolving) a very specific problem they are having.

MagicBecky Messmer: Yes, Mooie! I love that statement, Genuine attention to the needs of your customer.

Mooie Infinity: Yes you can use that somehow--it has a certain ring to it.

MagicBecky Messmer: Sounds like the title to an article.

Mooie Infinity: I want to address the lack of communication skills.

MagicBecky Messmer: So, back to what I was saying.

Mooie Infinity: People need to altruistically learn how to communicate.

MagicBecky Messmer: After someone plunks down there money, most people on-line want to automate the rest of it. So they are basically automating their customer’s right out of their business which does one thing. It alienates the customer who ruins all the time and energy the business owner has spent in connecting with them in the first place.

Mooie Infinity: Yes.

MagicBecky Messmer: I agree about the communication.

Mooie Infinity: Communication is key, and largely overlooked.

MagicBecky Messmer: Yes it is but then that goes back to the whole taking responsibility issue.

Have you listened to how we as adults communicate with each other and our children?

Mooie Infinity: Yes, we all can fall prey to negative communication.

Also--people tend to allow their emotional hot buttons to be pushed as opposed to learning the art of detachment in talking to others.

MagicBecky Messmer: Glad you brought that up Mooie. This is one of my favorite parts of service.

Mooie Infinity: As I said in Ho'oponopono and Stellar customer service (a bonus to your forthcoming electronic book). Love is all you need.

MagicBecky Messmer: We are emotional creatures. We have 2 sides of our brain, the emotional side and the thinking side.

Mooie Infinity: Yes--creative and rational, spiritual and practical.

MagicBecky Messmer: When you are upset, the emotional side takes over. That is why it’s so important for someone doing problem resolution (or customer service) to learn how to let a customer rant while supporting them in their right to be upset.

Once they get done ranting their brain equalizes itself out and they can then *hear* what I or any customer service person has to say.

When a customer is really angry, you could say, I am going to give you a million dollars and they wouldn't hear you.

Mooie Infinity: Are customer service people trained in communication?

MagicBecky Messmer: Whether they are trained in communication, depends on the company.

Where I worked we took customer service classes all the time- including one called Communication 101.

Mooie Infinity: You could write an ebook about that very problem: Lack of communication skills and the solution for customer service workers.

MagicBecky Messmer: I did want to speak on one more issue if that's ok.

Mooie Infinity: oh please, do.

MagicBecky Messmer: The idea that customer service is not a revenue producing activity.

Mooie Infinity: Ah, yes.

MagicBecky Messmer: Many believe that because it doesn't immediately put a check in your bank account that it doesn't make you money and therefore not such an important part of business.

Mooie Infinity: How wrong "they" are.

Everyone in an organization needs to be customer service minded

MagicBecky Messmer: My thoughts on the matter are if you don't take care of your customer they won't stick around.

Mooie Infinity: Every one must be a customer service person in any organization.

MagicBecky Messmer: Everyone in an organization should be treated like a customer, whether they are internal customer or an external customer.

Mooie Infinity: Now there's a good point! As an employee, I recently wrote to the Vice President of my hospital about a very serious problem--and got absolutely no response.

A few weeks later I sent the letter back, saying I expected the nursing staff to be empowered and not blown off.

MagicBecky Messmer: Are you not HIS customer?

Mooie Infinity: I am. And that's why I sent it back, and got an answer then.

MagicBecky Messmer: But see that's another reason why customer service is not done correctly in many cases. Everything trickles down from the top. If the people at the top don't value service, then who is teaching the employees?

Mooie Infinity: Good point.

MagicBecky Messmer: It all works together. If a marketer on-line doesn't think customer service is important, how well do you think his or her staff is going to take care of the customer?

Mooie Infinity: I believe whole organizations could learn from this, from several hundred or more to the lone marketer, like us.

MagicBecky Messmer: I agree, because it is such an integral part of business.

Mooie Infinity: Respect, cooperation, compassion, kindness, humanity.

MagicBecky Messmer: Whether it be a huge corporation or a small online business, the one thing everyone seems to forget is the reason we are *in* business is for the customer. Is that not who we create products and services for?

Mooie Infinity: Yes.

MagicBecky Messmer: So let's not forget them in the equation.

Mooie Infinity: Building relationships and trust, loyalty-- Fans!!!

MagicBecky Messmer: Trust me they will remember it and thank you for it by spending with you again and again. As I like to say, A customer will never remember what you do for them but They will ALWAYS remember how you made them feel.

Mooie Infinity: True. That's what I always remember, as a customer.

MagicBecky Messmer: Me too!

Mooie Infinity: Thank you Becky! This has been enlightening.

MagicBecky Messmer: And of course that goes right back to your idea about love your customers.

Mooie Infinity: Love is all you need. MagicBecky Messmer: My pleasure Mooie. You got me to talk a lot.

Shhh-- It's a secret.

It's the Secret of the Second Fortune!

Mooie Infinity: Yes it is.

MagicBecky Messmer: Definitely. How to tap into your customer's heart.

Mooie Infinity: Our conversation today will help people see the importance of nurturing Customer Service in their businesses.